McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,874 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 2.5% of McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 7,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $98.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,699,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,849,343. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.90 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.68 and its 200 day moving average is $119.35. The stock has a market cap of $249.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.